London - The Great British Bake Off inspired thousands of viewers to dust off their oven mitts.
And now the BBC is hoping a new gardening show – called Grow, Make, Eat: The Great Allotment Challenge – will do for cabbages and cucumbers what Bake Off did for pies and pastries.
Presented by Fern Britton, the six-part series is expected to air on BBC Two in early 2014.
The programme will see nine pairs of passionate gardeners putting their green fingers to the test as they attempt to harvest a crop of vegetables and fruits, ready to be judged by a panel of experts.
Over the course of four months the contestants will meticulously plan, plant and nurture their allotments inside a beautiful walled garden on the Mapledurham estate in Oxfordshire.
They will then be put through their paces in a series of challenges – including flower-arranging and making jam – under the watchful eyes of the judges.
Each week the participants will be given scores based on how they perform in three trials which will be designed to test their horticultural knowledge, creativity and culinary skills.
And every episode will reflect the growing season, explaining to viewers what crops are ripe for picking at that particular time.
Royal Horticultural Society judge Jim Buttress, tipped to be the Paul Hollywood of the series, will be joined on the panel by floral designer Jonathan Moseley and cookery writer Thane Prince.
Building on the tradition of the annual horticultural show, with its competitions for jams, chutneys, fruits, vegetables and flowers, the programme is set to celebrate Britain’s love for gardening – and, of course, a good competition.
Experts are hoping that the series will inspire would-be gardeners to take to the great outdoors and grow their own vegetables – just like characters Tom and Barbara in The Good Life, who laughed their way through the ups and downs of their self-sufficient lifestyle.
Matthew Appleby, author of the Allotment Planner, said: “It’s a big hope for everybody in the industry that this is going to make a garden boom time again in the same way Alan Titchmarsh’s show Ground Force did some years ago.
“The BBC has spent lots of money setting this up. But the difficulty with the concept is that while you can bake something in an hour or two, with gardening it takes weeks to grow anything.”
Over the last few years, there has been a move towards grow-your-own food – with many council-owned allotments reporting lengthy waiting lists. And some city-dwellers have been making the most of limited space, with balconies and windowsills doubling as gardens.
The BBC’s head of documentaries Emma Willis said: “We’re really excited about this fantastic new series which will tap into the wave of public interest in growing your own and crafts from chutney-making to floral arrangements.
“With the cost of living continuing to rise, it’s the perfect time to make the most of our gardens and allotments and get growing.” - Daily Mail